Tim Duncan & Gregg Popovich - Draft Night to Retirement
When I was a kid, my favorite baseball players were Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice of the Red Sox, but in the National League, it was Willie Stargell. Great hitters. One team guys.
When we said goodbye to them at the end of their careers, it was goodbye. Not like now, when you have the heartache of getting beat by the guy you rooted for last year. We pretend it doesnt hurt.
It wasnt unusual to stay in one city, and not because you were stuck there. Mike Schmidt was a Phillie, but couldve gone anywhere. Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell were career-long team-mates in Detroit, when it was not easy to be a Tiger. Premier QBs like Staubach and Elway. Tons of NHL players too.
I get why that changed, and Im not kvetching, but it makes Tim Duncans run here in San Antonio special. Guys dont do it that way anymore.
In fact, the more I think about his retirement, the more I think we may not see his kind again. One city. No off-season drama. Zen-like focus and contentment. He was happy here. He wouldve been happy anywhere.
Watching him play basketball reminds you of whoever taught you to play the game. Fundamental. Not selfish. Pass. Help your team mates. Win with everyone, not a solo act. Practice. You make a basket, you get down the other end. Not look around to see if everyone, or anyone, noticed. Your postgame interview was your game. What I did out there, yeah, thats my statement. Genial to fans, but not trying too hard. Generous when no ones looking. Not a clown, but humble and humorous enough to make those ridiculous yet lovable HEB commercials. And look at the camera like, can you believe were doing this?
Come to think of it, maybe we will see his kind again. I thought his kind was gone 20 years ago, but suddenly, there he was. Maybe being Tim Duncan is the dream, to some kid messing around after school, a hoop over the garage door. I specifically wanted to be Yaz.
Probably someone, somewhere, on a playground or driveway, specifically wants to be Tim. Good luck, kid.
Tim Duncan spent nearly two decades as the quiet storm in the middle of the San Antonio Spurs franchise, putting the team on his broad shoulders and carrying it to heights unseen in modern American sports.
With Duncan as the focal point, the Spurs won five championships, made the playoffs in all 19 of his seasons and cemented themselves as one of the most successful franchises in all of sports.
And now, the tireless and reluctant superstar is finally calling it a career. The 40-year-old Duncan announced his retirement on Monday, marking the end of an era for the Spurs and the NBA.
"The greatest power forward ever," the Los Angeles Clippers" Jamal Crawford said Monday, as the tributes to Duncan"s career began coming.
Few would dare argue.
Duncan was the No. 1 overall pick in 1997 and teamed with coach Gregg Popovich, point guard Tony Parker and shooting guard Manu Ginobili to turn the Spurs from a solid franchise that could never quite get over the hump into one of the league"s superpowers.
The unassuming Duncan won two MVP awards and was one of just four players to be named NBA Finals MVP at least three times. He was a 15-time All-Star, a member of the All-NBA first team 10 times and is one of only three players joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parrish to win at least 1,000 games in his career. He is fifth on the NBA"s career list in blocks, sixth in rebounds and 14th in scoring.
"The constant staple of their franchise," Cleveland"s LeBron James said earlier this year.
Duncan was never one for big endorsement deals or look-at-me press conferences, which is why he was often overshadowed in the public eye by more outsized personalities like the James and Kobe Bryant, who also retired this year after 20 seasons, all with the Los Angeles Lakers. But he leaves this game as one of the league"s true giants, perhaps the best power forward to ever play and one who left as indelible a mark on his franchise as any player to come before him.
"For us as players, we just enjoy and appreciate each other," Bryant said earlier this season. "It"s not a matter of who"s better or who"s greater. You just accept the careers that you"ve had. I appreciate his career, and vice versa."
The announcement comes two months after the Spurs were upset by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, a six-game exit that immediately had people wondering yet again if it was Duncan"s last hurrah.
Turns out, it was.
And like everything else Duncan did in his career aside from win he retired quietly, with a statement from the team. There will be no victory lap for Duncan, no farewell tour like the one Bryant had this season. Popovich would be available to address Duncan"s decision on Tuesday, the Spurs said.
The last time Duncan spoke to reporters was on May 12, when the Spurs had just been eliminated by the Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. After being ineffective for most of the series, Duncan scored 19 points and teamed with fellow 40-year-old Andre Miller to trim a 26-point lead to nine in the fourth quarter before Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant closed out the series.
There were hints in that game of Duncan"s plans, even though he exercised a contract option later to clear the way for his return. He had always said that he would walk away when he felt he could no longer have a significant impact on the game, and for most of the series the younger Thunder big men had their way with him and the Spurs on the glass.
With the Spurs getting blown out and the fourth quarter set to begin, Popovich and his veteran star had a brief conversation on the bench. Duncan then played all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter without coming out for a rest, perhaps soaking up every second he could in the last game he would ever play. And when the game was over, Duncan waved to the visiting crowd and pointed a finger toward the roof as he headed to the locker room, a rare signal from one of the league"s most stoic superstars.
"Timmy"s never been a very outspoken or emoting sort of individual on the court," Popovich said earlier this year. "Everybody does it differently."
And Duncan was truly one of a kind.
In 1997, after an injury to star David Robinson, the Spurs plunged in the standings and ended up with a chance at the No. 1 overall pick. They won the lottery, and it was a no-brainer to choose Duncan, the polished, two-way big man who had spent four years at Wake Forest.
The Spurs won 36 more games in Duncan"s rookie year than they had the previous season and were NBA champions in his sophomore campaign. They also won titles in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014, the last one a dominant run to redemption over James and the Miami Heat after losing to them in seven games the previous season.
For at least the last five seasons of his career, Duncan would face retirement questions. But he never really changed. You could see a few gray hairs near his temples as the years wore on, but his face, his body, his game all bore a striking resemblance to the 21-year-old who averaged 21.1 points and 11.9 rebounds in his first year in the league.
Here"s how long he was with the Spurs: He had 140 different teammates there.
He was a 38-year-old All-Star in 2014-15 and even as his minutes were reduced to save the wear and tear on his body for the playoffs, he remained a force on the defensive end and on the glass. He used an exhaustive workout regimen of boxing, swimming and diet to help him keep pace with the younger, faster, stronger players that kept coming at him year after year.
The Spurs won a franchise-record 67 regular-season games this past season. Despite Duncan"s individual statistics dipping to career lows, coaches and teammates said the impact his leadership, intelligence and defensive presence had continued to be elite.
